UK Economics Chart Pack Tentative signs of re-balancing The UK economy finally appears to be re-balancing away from consumers and towards the external sector. 1st December 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Fitful recovery continues (Nov 10) Consumer spending is still recovering, but the improvement remains fitful. Spending should receive some support in the last few weeks of the year from consumers bringing forward spending ahead of the... 18th November 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Recovery still strong, but spending cuts loom (Nov 10) The 0.8% quarterly rise in GDP in Q3 suggested that the recovery is still progressing nicely. However, the fiscal squeeze is yet to hit – and last month’s Spending Review confirmed that overall... 2nd November 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Recovery built on shaky foundations (Oct 10) The consumer recovery does not seem to be based on particularly strong foundations. With real incomes falling – and likely to fall further as the fiscal squeeze hits – households are having to save a... 21st October 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Recovery still slowing The recovery is still losing momentum, with the CIPS/Markit surveys indicating that growth may grind to a complete halt by the end of the year. (See Chart.) Admittedly, the economy now seems slightly... 30th September 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Pressures mounting (Sep 10) The pressures on consumers are mounting, with a weakening housing market now adding to the mix. And the drop in the official measure of retail sales in August suggests that consumers might finally be... 16th September 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Unbalanced recovery still looks fragile While the economy expanded strongly in the second quarter, further signs have emerged that growth has since slowed. And the breakdown of Q2 GDP casts additional doubt over the sustainability of the... 1st September 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Weakening in wider economy yet to hit high street (Aug 10) The recovery in the overall economy appears to be softening. And although the high street appears to doing well for now, we doubt that consumer spending will be far behind. Consumer confidence appears... 19th August 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Recovery reaches its high-point The economy managed a much stronger than expected expansion in the second quarter, with GDP rising by 1.1%. (See Chart.) However, this is likely to be as good as it gets for this stage of the economic... 2nd August 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack High street holding up for now (Jul 10) Consumers do not appear to have let concerns about the fiscal squeeze affect their spending too much yet. Nonetheless, there are some signs that the spending recovery is starting to lose momentum. And... 22nd July 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack The fiscal squeeze arrives The £40bn of additional fiscal tightening announced in June’s emergency Budget takes the total tightening to some £128bn by 2015/16, the equivalent of some 8% of GDP. (See Chart.) With the private... 1st July 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Confidence wavers as fiscal squeeze looms (Jun 10) Although the latest news has been mixed, consumer spending on the whole appears to be holding up well. But there are other signs that cracks in the recovery are appearing, including recent falls in... 17th June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Rise in inflation still likely to be only temporary The further rise in CPI inflation in April – which triggered another letter from the Governor to the Chancellor – prompted claims that the MPC is being too sanguine about the inflation outlook. But we... 4th June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Consumer spending fragile ahead of fiscal squeeze (May 10) Consumer spending has struggled to pick up again even though the various temporary factors weighing on spending earlier in the year have now disappeared. The consumer recovery may yet gain some... 20th May 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Weak backdrop to election By any ordinary standards, the economic backdrop to the general election is poor. Only on three previous occasions since 1955 have elections taken place against a background of negative annual GDP... 6th May 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Consumers fight off pre-election jitters (Apr 10) Consumer spending has continued to bounce back from the snow and VAT related weakness seen at the start of the year. And with consumer confidence holding up despite the looming fiscal squeeze, the... 22nd April 2010 · 1 min read
